


Touchstone

by gremlinny



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddling, Kissing, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, theyre So cute i love these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26680786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gremlinny/pseuds/gremlinny
Summary: Jack pauses for a moment in the middle of helping Crutchie get changed into his pajamas.“Y’ alright?” Crutchie asks, turning his head to look at where Jack’s positioned on the bed behind him, holding the button-up shirt he’d just been wearing in one hand, and clutching a faded t-shirt in the other.“Yeah, just… just lookin’.”“At what?”“…You,” Jack says, softly, huffing out a small laugh.
Relationships: Crutchie/Jack Kelly
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Touchstone

Jack pauses for a moment in the middle of helping Crutchie get changed into his pajamas. 

“Y’ alright?” Crutchie asks, turning his head to look at where Jack’s positioned on the bed behind him, holding the button-up shirt he’d just been wearing in one hand, and clutching a faded t-shirt in the other. 

“Yeah, just… just lookin’.”

“At what?”

“…You,” Jack says, softly, huffing out a small laugh. It’s not like he’s never seen Crutchie with his shirt off, they’ve known eachother far too long to have many hang-ups about getting changed where the other can see. Factor in all the times Jack has helped Crutchie get dressed—including now—and it’s not an uncommon occurrence. 

He sees Crutchie every day, and sees more of him than probably anybody else has. 

But it doesn’t mean he can’t take a moment to appreciate it. 

There’s more freckles on his shoulders than Jack could ever hope to count, all over his back like stars. A few moles here and there, dark little spots that stand out against pale skin. 

There are scars stretching the length of his spine, rough and discolored between the subtly winged protrusion of his shoulder blades. Scoliosis surgery—He remembers driving Crutchie to the hospital for it, and doubling down on commissions to pay the bills. Long hours spent in bed listening while his friend talked in his sleep because of the muscle relaxers and pain medication. Jack trails his thumb down one of the scars, counting the vertebrae as he goes. Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, held straight with rods and pins, and Crutchie shivers, despite Jack’s warm hands.

His shoulders are broad despite how skinny he is, and his arms are just a bit too long. His hands are big, his fingers slender. Everything about Crutchie is stretched just a bit too thin. 

Marfan’s syndrome is a connective tissue disorder, characterized by tall stature and disproportionately long limbs and digits. 

Heart problems are common, and a blood clot in just the wrong place can have very bad results. 

Crutchie was seven when it happened, when his right leg started wasting away. It’s even skinnier than the rest of him, twisted at an odd angle due to muscle contractions. His feet have different shoe sizes. 

There are other scars on his back, from fights and surgeries and accidents, mapped out on his skin, drawing lines between freckles and forming haphazard constellations.

Jack reaches around to wrap his arms around Crutchie’s chest, pulling him close and hugging him tightly, pressing a quick kiss to his collarbone.

“I love you, Charlie,” he says, softly, and Crutchie puts a hand over his, leaning back into the embrace.

“I love you too, Jackie.”

**Author's Note:**

> im castledock on tumblr


End file.
